Hello Sam,
Thank you for sending your pocket watch to Mearto for an appraisal. I will try to assist you with that today.
TITLE:
Gent’s, retro style, gold plated enameled, manually wound, open face pocket watch with fancy dial in the form seen in 18th century France, made by Blita (Boillat Freres & Co), Les Breuleux, Switzerland, circa 1970.
DESCRIPTION:
Case – 31mm in diameter with this Dore bronze (gold plated white metal), open face pocket watch with the back cover fully embossed in the earlier Art Nouveau style with a plethora of foliate forms that flow around the edges of the case and onto the bezel. The back cover has a stylized rosette at the center. There is an ornate winding crown in Dore bronze @12 with round embossed bow for attachment of the interlocking fine link gilt watch chain. . .
Dial – Ornate gilt metal dial with enameled Roman hours in rounded ‘C’ scroll cartouche form, minute ring to the inside of the hours and the remainder of the dial filled with floral patterns. A plaque above simply reads, “Blita”. The black steel hands are in the Louis XVth style. . .
Movement: A manually wound Swiss made movement with 17 jewels, three quarter brushed nickel plate with exposed ratchet and crown wheels, three arm mono-metallic balance wheel with Swiss made index regulator. The plates are signed. . .
Condition – Very fine, near mint condition with the dial and case excellent and the watch remaining fully functional.
Historical – Blita was a brand name for Boillat Freres & Co, a watch company in Les Breuleux who first advertised in 1918. It began full production of lever and cylinder pocket watches during the 1920s. The first mention of the Blita model was in an advertisement in 1940 for lever escapement wrist watches. The firm opened an office in Bienne in 1951 and Blita was still listed in 1966. One of the problems with such a watch is that it is neither antique nor vintage as of 2019. But certainly, a handsome pocket watch in a retardetaire style.
I have compared your watch with others on the internet and have decided that the fair market value in this fine condition is from $70-$90. Retail price appears to be about $125+.
I hope you have found this helpful to your understanding of the watch. For the price level it is a handsome example of a retro-styled pocket watch.
Best regards,
David